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Providers
StateServe, Hospicelink merge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Seventh Street Medical steps up for veteran . . . . . . . . . . 13
Q&A: Tony Marsallo of Paragon Ventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
DASCO leverages Apacheta to gain efficiencies . . . . . . . 14
■ The companies making
acquisitions are looking for
something special, says RIck
Glass. See story page 1.
Briefs
Comfort Mobility Medical
broadens product mix
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – Comfort Mobility
Medical has increased the number of lift
chairs in its showroom to 24-30, all man-
ufactured by Golden Technologies, the
company has announced. Founder Patrick
"Randall" Flack says he prides himself on
knowing which lift chair is the best for each
customer. "I personally test everything to
understand how it works and who it will
benefit the most, in terms of quality of life,"
he said. Comfort Mobility Medical also car-
ries other products, including Inogen One's
G3 portable oxygen concentrator. In 2018,
the company has added a number of new
products to its portfolio, including the Kal-
mia Therapeutic Sleep System by Parks
Health Products.
Beacon transitions
HME biz to Alick's
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Beacon Home Care is
transitioning its medical equipment and
supplies business to Alick's Home Medi-
cal Equipment by the end of the month,
according to the South Bend Tribune. The
companies, which are both based here,
are calling the change a "joint venture,"
the newspaper says. Beacon Home Care
will retain its nursing, therapy, home health
aide and other services. "We are focusing
our energies on what Beacon does best,"
Heidi Prescott, a spokeswoman for Beacon
Home Care told the Tribune. "Home medi-
cal equipment is what Alick's does best."
The 35 employees affected by the change
have been offered positions at Alick's, ac-
cording to the newspaper. Alick's also has
locations in Elkhart, Plymouth, Michigan
City and Mishawaka. The family owned
business offers a full line of HME, includ-
ing hospital beds, scooters, lift chairs and
respiratory equipment.
Aeroflow highlights
success in 2017
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Aeroflow Healthcare
logged an annual sales growth rate of
146% in 2017, making it the company's
best year yet. "By actively seeking new
markets, expanding through its competi-
tive acquisition strategy, and moving from
a brick-and-mortar model to a pack, pick
and ship model, Aeroflow continued its
expansion geographically and in product
lines," it stated in a press release. Other
highlights from the year: Aeroflow saw a
17% increase in job growth in 2017, with
plans to hire an additional 50 to 100 em-
ployees in 2018; and the company pur-
chased and renovated a new distribution
facility, The Hite Fulfillment Center, that
spans 35,000 square feet, consolidates
all inventory and improves logistical ef-
ficiency. Aeroflow also earned three rec-
ognitions in 2017, including being named
to Inc. Magazine's 5000 Fastest Growing
Companies list, and being certified for
the highly coveted Great Place to Work
Award.
www. HME n E ws. C o M / MA r CH 2018 / HME n E ws 13
By Theresa Flaher T y, Managing e ditor
W
hen it comes to home
medical equipment,
t ony Marsallo has
been there, done that. t he new
managing director at M&A firm
Paragon Ventures was one of the
co-founders of n ational Sleep
t echnologies (now Sleep Ser-
vices of America) and operated
a successful retail medical prod-
uct and supply company, among
other things.
"You have to keep learning and
reading and paying attention,"
said Marsallo. " i t's easy to read
about what happened last week,
but you've got to look ahead at
what's happening next week."
HME N E ws: Are you feeling opti-
mistic about the HME industry for
the year ahead?
Tony Marsallo: From our stand-
point, it's pretty positive. t he
companies that are still involved
are survivors and probably run
their business very well and have
weathered the storm. All over
the country, people i am deal-
ing with now are talking about
either acquiring or exiting, one
of the two.
HME: What's the first step a
By Theresa Flaher T y, Managing e ditor
FOSTER CITY Calif. – After a lengthy tenure
at Apria h ealthcare, Lauren Barranti says
taking the helm at the much smaller
C h M e presents exciting new challenges.
" i t's a great opportunity to go back to a
very local health care operation and the
service that we provide—there's fewer and
fewer of us out there,'" she said. " i love
the challenge and i want to make good on
that whole cliche that health care is a local
business and want to keep proving those
services locally and grow this company."
Barranti was promoted in January to
president and C e O, succeeding industry
By Tracy Orzel, c ontributing Writer
F E A S T E R V I L L E , Pa . – S e v e n t h
Street Medical Supply recent-
ly donated a Golden t echnolo-
gies power wheelchair to Bill
Richardson, a Korean War vet-
eran who had been featured by
a local news station.
After the segment aired,
8 7 - y e a r- o l d R i c h a r d s o n
tripped over a coffee table in
his apartment, where he lay
for several days before help
arrived. t hat's when Fox 29's
Bruce Gordon emailed his
longtime friend and president
of Seventh Street Medical Sup-
By Theresa Flaher T y, Managing e ditor
TEMPE, Ariz., and BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After several
years of fierce competition, a merger between
StateServ h oldings and h ospicelink allows
the combined DM e benefit manager to
"dominate" in the hospice market.
Combined, StateServ and h ospicelink
will serve more than 100,000 patients daily
through a network of more than 1,300 DM e
providers and 21 distribution centers.
"We looked at StateServ as a highly
regarded peer in the market," said Chad
t rull, founder and C e O of h ospicelink and
president of the newly combined company.
" e ither we were awarded the business or they
were, so we felt like, together, we could do
something special."
StateServ and h ospicelink, which will
operate as a portfolio company of Blue Wolf
StateServ Holdings,
Hospicelink join forces
Capital Partners, which
provided investment capi-
tal to StateServe in Septem-
ber, offer a full spectrum of
technology-driven man-
agement services, from
automated orders to billing
and collections to sales and
marketing.
t he model lowers some
barriers to entry DM e pro-
viders might face in serving
the hospice market, says
Paul DiCosmo, co-found-
er and C e O of StateServ
and C e O of the combined
company.
" t here's some operation-
al efficiencies to be gained
there, and the operating model itself can
require a significant investment in labor,"
ply, Andy Scolnick.
" i t was right around the
holidays," said Scolnick. " i
had this power chair here, so
i responded right away."
Founded in 1983, Seventh
Street Medical offers bariatric,
respiratory, orthopedic, and
mobility equipment, as well
as aids to daily living and dia-
betes supplies, generating $2
million in annual sales.
F ro m re p l a c i n g s t o l e n
equipment free of charge to
donating tires to arranging
elevator repairs and fundrais-
ing for childhood cancer, the
Seventh Street
Medical steps up
New CEO
wants to
make good
on cliche
Marsallo: 'Still a
lot of movement'
provider should take when they
decide to sell their company?
Marsallo: You have to sit down
and get over the emotional part
of it. i t's difficult—you've been
doing it for years. But once you
get over the emotional part, it
becomes black and white. t hen
you can bring somebody in and
have a very sophisticated analysis
to tell you what this business is
really worth, not what you think
it's worth or what Cousin Char-
lie thinks it's worth. Once there's
agreement on that number, it's
very doable. t here's a way to exit
the business.
HME: There's plenty of buyer
appetite for niche providers, but
what about for traditional DMEs?
Marsallo: t here's still a lot
of movement for companies
doing lots of sleep with CPAP
and BiPAP, and there's still a
lot of movement with compa-
nies that specialize in mobility.
With oxygen, when the cost to
purchase POCs comes down
and reimbursement is more
favorable, more units will be
placed and it will put business
owners in a more creative part
of the business, not so labor
intensive.
HME
B A R R A N T I s e e pa g e 1 4
M E R G E R s e e pa g e 1 4
S T E P u p s e e pa g e 1 4
sE v EN t H s tr EE t M E dical knows its patients by their names,
not their HCPCS codes, says President Andy Scolnik .
Q&A on M&A
'We're looking forward to making
headway in new markets'
Chad Trull
Paul DiCosmo